(WBMA) The former University of Alabama student who was captured by federal authorities instructing an undercover investigator how to send money to Al-Qaeda was sentenced Thursday in a federal courtroom in Tuscaloosa.
Chief U.S. District Court Judge L. Scott Coogler sentenced 26-year-old Alaa Mohd Abusaad to 90 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for concealment of terrorism financing. Abusaad pleaded guilty to the charge in September 2019.
Authorities said Abusaad specifically advised the agent on how to send money to avoid detection from law enforcement, including by using fake names and addresses when conducting electronic money transfers.
Abusaad told the undercover agent money “is always needed. You can’t have a war without weapons. You can’t prepare a soldier without equipment.”
